Sticks and Stones
by monocles
Summary: When Dawn loses a major gym battle, she decides to go train at Iron Island. However, when she begins to grow close to the quiet stranger in the blue hat, they both realize that maybe their friendship is not as simple as it seems... Ironwillshipping!
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Pokemon and/or the characters in it.

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The roaring of the ocean broke Dawn from her daydream. When she finally looked up, she noticed that she could see no sign of land anywhere. With all the blue water surrounding the tiny boat, it was not hard to imagine that she was the only one in the world. It was a comforting thought, although it made her feeling of loneliness grow more powerful.

"The island is not far now!" The captain of the tiny boat shouted over the rather loud clamor of the motor. So much for being alone.

Glancing to the north, Dawn could see what appeared to be a silhouette of what she assumed to be Iron Island. To be honest, it looked more like an area from the adventure games she used to love playing so much as a kid, the ones about the boy dressed in a green outfit with the Clefairy by his side. Especially with the ominous looking Wingulls and Pelippers flying near the very top of the mountain.

Iron Island would be the perfect place for her to stay a while, to train, maybe even to disappear. _No one would even miss her that much..._

She gently shook her head as if the action could clear her mind, but the thoughts could not be erased.

She had heard from the Canalave locals that Iron Island contained an abandoned mine that was now used by the odd pokemon trainer or hiker. But it was supposed to be pretty isolated in the mine. And after her loss at the Canalave Gym, she definitely needed the training. But mines- which were just basically caves with a fancier name- were still extremely creepy. And dark. And scary. And probably full of those Zubats and Golbats...

But she had to swallow her fears and deal with them because that was what she needed, somewhere dark where she could get lost for a while. After all, she was a pokemon trainer. Besides, she needed a break from doing the usual trainer things. Like dealing with annoying pokemon trainers or those pesky Galactic criminals. Or when she was dared to spend the night at the Old Chateau by the gym leader Gardenia.

She could totally take this island on. The thought of no human contact for months was tempting to her...

"Land ho!" The captain shouted, interrupting her thoughts once more. She could now see the island much more clearly and she saw the entrance to the mine. As soon as the captain tied the boat to the dock, she jumped off.

"Now wait here a moment, little missy." Dawn looked back at the captain.

"I know you're probably one of those trainers who 'don't want anyone's help', but just how long do you plan to stay here?"

People were always trying to help her. It got kinda annoying at times. She cleared her dry throat and answered.

"Dunno. A while, I guess."

"Do you have the proper equipment? I'm assuming you're gonna stay for a few days." Dawn nodded her head. She had her trusty sleeping bag, and shortly before she made the trip here, she made sure to stock up on the things she would need to go incognito for a few months. If there was one thing she wanted, it was to not starve to death because she didn't pack enough stuff. Also, she brought a bunch of pokeballs and potions, just in case. It was hard to kill the pokemon trainer instinct.

"Alrighty then. I'll be here for a few more hours, but then I'm heading back to Canalave. If you want a ride back, I'm usually out here at this time everyday. Trainers these days, they're all about the 'wilderness experience'. Guess you would know." He smiled at Dawn.

"Thanks for all the help." _'Mind your manners,_' her mother always told her.

"No problem. And here." He tossed something at her.

"Hey, cool, Escape Rope. Thanks." The shiny, re-usable bag containing the rope glistened at her.

"Just in case." With a wink, the sailor set off sail, presumably back to Canalave City.

She was finally on Iron Island. It's funny, the churning in her stomach hadn't dissipated as she thought it would have once she stepped onto the island, in fact it was much worse. She placed a hand on her stomach as if to settle it. She knew it wasn't the fading effects of sea sickness, since she'd never been affected before. And it wasn't just her stomach that was achy. She just felt crappy all over and she knew the reason why. She still could see Byron's victorious grin whenever she closed her eyes.

Dawn began to walk the many steps up toward the mine entrance since she knew if she dilly dally-ed any further she would eventually convince herself out of it. She was also trying hard not to think of the bat pokemon inside.

When she was about halfway there, she came across a house. A literally nondescript house. It looked exactly like one of the houses from the mainland. The more unimportant she thought it looked like, the more she had the feeling that there was someone inside who would give her a quest to fulfill - just like from those old role playing games she used to play.

"Curse you Legend of Melda!"

She lightly knocked on the door because her mother did teach her to have manners. There was no answer, so she took a quick peek inside. The only thing remarkable about it was the tv and the trend tracking show on. It really looked like whoever lived in the house had simply stepped away for a moment. Dawn didn't want to be caught snooping through someone's house uninvited, so she continued on.

She knew she was close to the entrance when she heard the caws of the Wingull above. She looked up cautiously. She hoped that this spot wasn't a favorite bathroom spot for the flying pokemon.

"And you are?"

Her inner monologue was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. She looked for the source and found it to be the trainer standing directly in front of the entrance. He didn't look friendly, especially with the way he looked down on her. She noticed instantly his clothing looked expensive and brand new. It made her feel self conscious of her own clothes, the same ones she had left home to start her adventure with. Most of his face was covered by a deep blue fedora, yet one eye stared at her. And the brow above it raised slightly as he awaited her answer.

"I heard this place was good for training. Um, my name is Dawn." She was aware of how that sounded like a question almost immediately after she said it out loud.

His features softened slightly as he listened. He appeared to be mulling something over before finally speaking again.

"The pokemon here are acting strangely, like they've been agitated. You should be careful inside. If you want, we could team up."

Dawn found herself speechless as he was staring directly into her eyes. It didn't feel like he was looking at her, more like looking in her. It was almost like he could see something in her that most people couldn't.

The stranger blinked suddenly, ending the moment. "I'll be waiting inside." He turned toward the mine.

"Oh by the way," he said, looking back at her. "The name is Riley."

When she was alone again, Dawn let go of the breath she didn't know she had been holding.

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A/N: Yeah, I'm back. Sorry for the delay, school and health problems have been kicking my butt. If you've read the previous draft I had of this story, you'll probably notice this is all familiar. I combined the first two chapters and added more to it, now that I have an idea of where the story is going. Oh by the way, in this story, Dawn is in her late teens (around 17) and Riley's in his early twenties, if that makes some of you feel better. Comments and/or critique appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Pokemon and/or the characters in it.

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Dawn did not even wait a moment to stalk after him into the entrance of the mine. He was already walking towards a staircase when he noticed her behind him. He turned just enough that only one dark blue eye was trained on Dawn.

"Decided to take me up on my offer?" Dawn hated that bored tone he had.

"What makes you think I need help?" Dawn huffed back at him, though after the fact she realized she may have said it too aggressively. She had just also taken notice of a dark figure lurking by the staircase Riley had been heading towards. When it noticed her eyes on it, it turned slightly toward the lantern on the wall and gazed at her, while at the same time seemed to be looking through her. She gasped softly.

"Is that a Lucario?"

Both Riley and the Lucario dropped their gazes on her and shared a glance with each other. Dawn's finely tuned social etiquette senses were tingling and she felt she was being excluded out of a conversation. She was used to being ignored.

"I mean, aren't they rare?"

They seemed to just notice Dawn again and Riley turned to face her fully. The Lucario resumed his gaze on her.

"This Lucario has been in my family a long time. I grew up with him."

"Oh, I see."

There was an awkward pause where Lucario and Riley exchanged another glance and Dawn pretended not to notice by looking at her feet. After a few minutes, Riley turned to her again.

"Lucario senses disturbances in the mine that worry me. The pokemon here have been aggressive lately."

The words pinged on Dawn's mind. They seemed familiar to her. She had an inkling about who could have caused it.

"Do you think it could be Team Galactic?" Riley's eyes, which had been fully guarded the entire time, slipped and Dawn caught a look of suspicion. The Lucario remained unfazed.

"What could they be doing here? On this island?" There was another glance.

"Who knows? They're nuts. I met him - their leader once. He was... something else." Crazy, insane, she wanted to say. But there was still something else about Cyrus she could not put her finger on. Maybe it was the way he got her, like no one else could. But Dawn did not care to divulge that the only person who ever understood her was the ringleader of Team Galactic. Dawn did not want to say anything else about that, she was tired of dealing with them.

The Lucario and Riley began turning towards the staircase. "Hey, wait! Do you even know where they are?"

Riley turned back again. "If they're here, then I know they're in here. Somewhere. I'll find them."

Dawn thought about the many places in the mine where they could be. Worse still, she had yet to find a map that detailed the bottom most level of the mine on Iron Island, if it even existed. Riley could be looking for a long time. And worse, they could do whatever it is they were looking to do here while he searched for them. And thirdly, if they were here, they probably had at least a bunch of grunts. A bunch of grunts outnumbered Riley. Even if he did have a Lucario.

"Then I'll help you." Two was better than one.

But Riley just looked skeptical.

"I thought you didn't need help."

"I don't, but you do. And trust me, I've dealt with them before. I know what I'm doing."

After a pause, he agreed. "Alright, Dawn, you said your name was? Are you ready to enter the darkness?"

"As I'll ever be."

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A/N: Short chapters are kinda my specialty. This chapter has a lot of looks between Riley and Lucario, and holy hell, I might ship them now. (Kidding!) RL hasn't eased up much but I like to hope I'll have the next part up. Soonish. Comments and/or critique appreciated.


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